It takes all types of people...

To make the world go round.

Stephen's blog (www.stephenpearsall.com) was good at summing up our weekend in SLC.  But I don't think he gave our new friend "older gentleman" quite enough attention in his blog, so I'm here to fix it. Here's how it went down.

This was the exact picture I was trying to take when I heard a voice behind me. "You find anything good?"  Well... I mean yeah.  We found a hole in the ground you can see from space, and trucks the size of two-story houses.  So I turned around to see the inquirer.

Mid sixties. He was missing one of his two from teeth, and the other one wasn't in such great condition either.  His mound of scruffy gray beard, though, distracted his company from his teeth. (I was really hoping nothing lived in there... but the whole time he was talking, I was being attacked by gnats.  So this is inconclusive.)  His hat was a camo fisherman hat with pins on it.  His glasses were big, his pants up high.

Without really waiting for an answer, he continued with "Did you know you could fit the body of every man, woman, and child in this hole, and it still wouldn't be full?"  I was so taken aback, I didn't even ask if he meant in the US or the world! (I'm still bummed I didn't ask.)  So you can imagine mine and Stephen's shock and silence throughout the rest of the "conversation".  His questions to us stopped, and the "facts" started rollin... and rollin... and rollin.  See, there are 3 types of people as I see it.  1) takes silence as a hint that the people aren't interested, and shuts up 2) takes silence as awkwardness and talks to fill it, and 3) takes silence as a clue that the other person has nothing to say and probably just wants to hear you talking and will never shut up.  Our friend Beardy McNerd is of type #3.

I don't know how true everything he said was (and he said a LOT), but some was pretty interesting.  Turns out during his weekly visits to the mine he has made friends with many of the workers, and is apparently up to date on all their policies, court cases, politics, you name it.  I think the owner of the mine could have learned something from this guy.  He talked a lot about the same issues that we are having on our construction site (like environmental concerts, permits, etc) but I was getting cold and wanted to go home, so I didn't encourage him with my stories.

And then, when he ran out of things about the mine to talk about... well.... he took our "thanks for the info" as an invitation to talk about himself.  My favorite thing I learned from Beardy?  He plans his vacations based on....
PENNY SMASHING MACHINES.
Apparently, there is a lot to say about these machines, because we listened for another half hour.  His last vacation, he left with 6,000 pennies.... and 23 days later, came back with NINETEEN (19).  What does he do with them?  Oh, just trades them, many machines have several different designs on them, so you have to do it 4 or 5 times.  I have this image of an old man trading pennies with a little kids like Pokemon cards or something.  (Did you know the mine used to have one of these machines? But it broke, and it's being repaired, and it was supposed to be back 2 months ago, yada yada).  And then he told us he has a girlfriend in San Diego.  Bless. Her. Heart.

Anyways.  I never did learn Beardy's real name.  I'm guessing it was Ralph.  Our 1 hour visit to the mine was somewhere around 2.5.  But you can imagine me and Stephen, just standing there, fighting off gnats while Mr. McNerd just listened to himself talk.

ON a completely different note...
I WENT TO SEATTLE LAST WEEKEND!!!  SO GREAT!!!  I will blog soon, I have lots of great pictures.  And NEXT weekend, my mom, sis, 3 aunts, and grandma are coming to Vegas!  I will surely have some exciting posts soon.

XO!

"You do realize, we've started the rest of our lives?"

That's why my 22 yr old coworker said.  Dude, he's so right!  I mean, my dad has been at the same job since he graduated college... is that going to be me?!  At least my job will allow me to move around (too much?) but I've heard that's also hard on families.  It's also sad because the culture at my company is to make a community out of only your coworkers... I'd be hard pressed to find anyone with friends outside of work!  But I'm trying not to let that be me.  I will say I am NOT a fan of Vegas culture (so many reasons!) but Vegas needs JESUS!!  Which means I really need to be trying to love people here and settle in.  I've been here 4 months and I still feel very much like a transplant... I have a terrible attitude, and I spend many days per week thinking about how I can get back to NC.  So, pray for my attitude in this!

I just got back from my first kickboxing class... it was probably the most miserable hour of my life.  So of course I enrolled in classes for 6 months.  You probably should not mess with me ever again because who knows? I might just bash your face in.

You know what is such a blessing?  VISITORS!  And I've had my share recently.  And I welcome many more.  The cool thing about Vegas is that you can NEVER do everything.  There is ALWAYS (literally, any time of day or night) something to do... whether it be perusing flamingo habitats, hiking, gambling, clubbing, or sliding through a shark tank.  SO THAT'S WHAT ANDREA AND I DID!  We had the BEST TIME - so glad she came!  There's so much left on our list to do!

The next weekend was my birthday weekend!  Unfortunately, I had a fever all week... and it was also a stressful work week.  I had been out in the 100+ degree weather all day... I finally come inside to each lunch at like 2... and my boss had planned my birthday party!  SUPER nice of him... but I couldn't help feeling like he could have helped me out with work a little instead of party planning :)  BUT we (lots of coworkers) went to a country western bar, followed by Tryst (a club at the Wynn).  Super fun!  And, because I am just so naturally awesome, there was no waiting in line for me at the club (the boys had to wait an hour, on a THURSDAY night!... oh well).

And then my ACTUAL birthday came, and my boyfriend came and surprised me with JUMPING OFF THE 108TH STORY OF THE STRATOSPHERE!  Really fun and I was VERY surprised (which says a lot, because he is HORRIBLE at secrets... sorry honey).  We also went hiking, played some Memory and Trouble (I won both times), went to church... we were wiped out.  What a fantastic weekend!

After our jump - we were workin the camera :)

Las Vegas from the Stratosphere (my apartment is included in this view)

Impressed with the cactus bushes (I accidentally brushed one and my hand swelled up! (barely))

Cheesin

Stephen kicked my butt, here's proof.. and NO, that's not a wrist tattoo.

Well, I'll leave you with that picture of my butt.  Happy weekend, everyone!

My first visit to SLC

...but not to the airport.  When I visited Stephen in Omaha, I flew through SLC... it's a very boring place, nothing to write home about (which is kind of funny, because in a way I AM writing home about it!)  This time, I spent even longer there as I waited for Stephen's flight to arrive (he was away on business).  That's right - I actually was ready for something before he was - let's remember this day!  I waited 2 hours, met him getting off the plane, and we were finally off to his apartment!

So yes, it is true Stephen has visited me 3 times in Vegas (twice driving!) and met me halfway once.  And I've met him... halfway, once.  And in Omaha once (by using his free flight voucher - he's such a giver).  So I haven't really been the best at this visiting thing.  But I FINALLY DID IT! So, pressure is off.  Oh yeah, and I had a great time.

The days all run together, so here's kind of an outline of what happened out of order -

• Wasatch National Park!  That's the "butt shot" on my facebook... Stephen likes mountain roads (I HATE THEM) so we drove around before ending up at a high point.  Sad to say, the 80 degree weather made me a little chilly... Vegas has ruined me.

• LDS Temple!  Interesting set up.  And interesting faith.  We were in the visitor's center, learning how the temple was constructed, when some Mormons on Mission came to greet us... 45 minutes later, I was still talking to them on their faith.  It's insanely cool how much faith they can have in something someone said (not even documented)... like their modern-day prophets who have visions.  I wish I could have faith that strong in my Savior, who gives me His perfect Word!  They told us a lot about their faith, only to research when we got home and find that they weren't all that... correct.

• Olympic Park!  SLC was the host of the 2002 winter olympics and they have a little park/museum thing... In fact, Stephen got me a little souvenir I'd like to share with you.  See it here.  And if that's not enough proof of his inner-child, here's more:

 

• Park City!  Super cute.  We didn't do too much here except walk around (WE FORGOT TO GO TO THE OUTLET MALL STEPHEN!!!!) and we were going to get lunch somewhere... but you see, we had this thing called WOLFPACK FOOTBALL that we had to take care of, so we were on a schedule.  We did stop to look at cowboy boots, but Stephen decided I wasn't worth $1,499, so we moved on.  We ended up at a great little mexican place called Lorenzo's... their Creamy Cilantro salsa was the best!  We were so full on Mexican (and Wolfpack victory!!) that we didn't even need dinner.  

 ...Stephen pretty much told me he'd rather be at a tailgate in NC than in SLC with me, his favorite person ever.  But I guess when you're dating a Tailgate Extraordinaire you just have to deal with these things.  For the record though, he tried to take back what he said.

• Church!  We clapped for the visitors.  We clapped for Jesus.  We clapped for the offering.  We clapped because the volunteers did a good job last weekend.  We clapped for the songs.  We clapped when the songs were over.  Am I making a point here?

• Hiked! Our "4-mile moderate" hike was not so moderate... or 4-mile-ish... or clearly marked, so the "waterfall" we now think was referring to was a small stream with current.  But, thinking we hadn't reached our destination, we continued onto the much more strenuous parts... for a LONG TIME. Here's a view... we are actually looking towards the cars right now, but you can't see them.  Just trust me when I say we were very high.

LUCKILY, I made the call to turn around, because it was getting dark when we finally reached the car.  The thing is, 7-mile hikes are AWESOME... when you PLAN for a 7-mile hike.  But we brought 3 water bottles and a camera.

• Passed Out! After the hike, we laid on the floor before mustering up strength to take showers.  We ordered Pizza Hut, got a RedBox, and called it a night.  It was so great!  We were definitely exhausted.  

AND SHUFORD IS ENGAGED! CONGRATS MAN! SO EXCITED FOR YA'LL!

AND DAVID IS ENGAGED! DUDE SO AWESOME!

On another relationship note... DISTANCE IS AWFUL I HATE IT.  Without going into to much detail, feel free to pray about this in Stephen's/my life.

Hope everyone had a fantastic Labor Day weekend!  Just to let you know, my birthday is coming up (9/16) and so if you want to send me money and presents you can! :)

Did you know I was such an artist?

That's right, folks!  I have been painting away these past few weeks, and it WILL NOT come off my fingernails. Ah, well.  The woes of a decorator.

Speaking of decorating, did you want pictures of my apartment??  Here's one, with original artwork by yours truly!

Don't have a picture yet of my artwork from last night on my camera, but I'll probably post it on my facebook, so keep a lookout for that!

I hope everyone has been doing great these past few weeks.  I have!  First and foremost, I got to witness some wonderful friends of mine, Lauren and Ben, get married!  It was so beautiful and I felt so honored to be a part of it.  You can check out pictures of their wedding here: http://courtney-potter.com/2011/08/laurenben-married/  Congratulations guys! I miss you!  And just a few days later, my wonderful friend Olivia left the country for mission work for the next 11 months.  If you'd be interested in supporting her or other kids in her program, you can do it through her blog! Click on this: http://oliviacoward.theworldrace.org/  Miss you Olivia and I'm praying for you! Stay away from cows please!

Of course, it was great to see everyone too.  When I left NC, I took solace knowing I would see everyone again at the wedding... which is now over!!! When is our next reunion? Probably another wedding sometime... what happens when we run out of friends to get married??

The weekend before that, Stephen came down on a last-minute decision to visit.  That sweet boy drove 6 hours to spend time with me!  He beat me to blogging about this - you can read his recount here: www.stephenpearsall.com  He also discusses my visit to Omaha.  We had a blast - it was raining when I got in on Friday morning (love the rain!) so I took a nap since I didn't get any sleep on the red eye.  The rest of the weekend was sunny with a high of 80 and breezy.  Downtown was so cute and I felt so much more at home living in a hotel in Nebraska than I feel in my own apartment in Vegas :(  But I do like it here! I just really miss home.

I've been away from home for long periods before... South Carolina, Texas, or even when I lived in Raleigh I wouldn't go home for months!  But being in desert, I have very little that is familiar to me.  All I want is some sweet tea! Or a girl friend!  Or to see my dog! (or family :) )  Or just a thunderstorm!  But, I'll stop complaining.

What do I do on weekends?  Well, the other week I babysat my boss's 2.5 year old son!  We got to spend 3 days together going to parks, the Las Vegas zoo (where he was charged at by a peacock, and made me carry him while I fed the goats at the same time - very challenging).  It was fun to be a mom for a weekend, kind of... but that's because it was only for a weekend :)  This weekend I went to a Dierks Bentley concert, which was so much fun!  I went with a group from work and learned how to 2-step. I am thinking about trying a half marathon in December on the strip - I'm told it is such an awesome race!  I have a LOT of training to do then, and it is impossible to run in this heat, so I'm indecisive.

For Labor Day weekend, I'm headed to Utah to visit Stephen!  I actually haven't visited him in SLC since he moved there 4 months ago... and he's been to Vegas 3 times now?  ...Ooops...

I need a new recipe for dinner tonight/lunch this week.  Any suggestions??  XO!

The boringest of blogs

MAN did I sleep in today.  I woke up at 7... it's weird because waking up that "late" I feel like I'm wasting the day!

I'm just warning you, this is going to be a boring blog.

I left off at the fourth of July... and let me tell you.  The fireworks in Vegas were off. Da HOOK.  Allison and I went to Henderson, the neighboring town, to watch fireworks, which is slightly higher in elevation than Vegas. Because of that, we could see probably 20 different fireworks shows at the same time!  In Greenville there's what, one sub-par show?  In Raleigh, there might be 2?  In Vegas, it's everywhere.  True to the over-the-top style of Vegas.

My job - When I found out about this opportunity, it sounded like my dream job.  And it's even better than I expected!  I have just been so blessed!  Many of you know I've done 4 internships throughout college - sure, I enjoyed them while I was there, but there was always an end in sight.  I could never do any of those jobs for much longer than the 3 months I was there.  But I've been at this job 6 weeks now, and I feel like a fully integrated employee - no end in sight, and that fact doesn't even scare me.  Everyday I'm learning - even if it's just learning how much I have yet to learn.  And the project I'm on is really going to make history.  And I get to have my name on it!  I'm seriously afraid that I'll never enjoy a project/job as much as I do right now, so I'm trying to make the most of it and soak it all in.

My cousin Ali is in Vegas this month, and despite not seeing her in years, we click so well and I'm so glad she's here!  I've also been very fortunate to find a church to which I plan on regularly attending - and have met some great people through that.

I'm actually headed back to NC in 2 weeks to see my sweet friend Lauren get married to my friend Ben!  I can't wait - it's been so cool being able to witness their relationship from the beginning. :)  Can't wait to spend the weekend with them! Not to mention all the other great people there to celebrate with them!

Happy Independence Day!

Do they have 4th of July in England?


Yes! It comes after the 3rd of July.


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Hope you all are enjoying this weekend with some nice Carolina BBQ, pig pickin, or church potluck... whatever it may be.  Here in Vegas, I'm doing none of those things... because it is raining. In Vegas. It is raining. On the 4th of July.  Not only is it Sin City, it's ... Unpatriotic City. (Stephen? Joke cred? Maybe??)   Personally, I'm a little thankful... I have missed cloudy days and thunderstorms - and it is quite a storm!

But, the pool would be really nice to enjoy!  My best friend from home, Allison, is visiting me from LA this long weekend.

We're having a blast - despite locking my keys in the car the first 30 min she was here!  (It's just so nice to have a good friend around.  I forgot how much I missed that kind of friendship.)  We visited the M resort pool!  It's enormous and beautiful, and definitely helped cool us off from the 111 degree weather (the locals say "oh, this isn't even hot yet." just shut up.)

We went to the strip! Unlike me, Allison actually did pretty well at the slots.  We visited some casinos I hadn't been to - I found a favorite one!  We thought about visiting the ice bar - it's where everything - from chairs and tables to glasses - are constructed of ice.  But, we never made it that far.

We went shopping!  What are girl friends for?? :)  Al has been a key instrument in affirming or generating decorative ideas for my apartment.  I think it's shaping up! Promise I'll post pictures soon!

Last weekend, Stephen and I met halfway and went camping in Fishlake National Park.  In just 3 hours, I saw red cliffs, green mountains, then snow-covered mountains.  You'll never find me complaining about that drive! Not to mention a 40 degree drop in temperature.  We ate at a local cafe, dropped my car off at a hospital smaller than a grocery store, and headed up to Kents Lake.  Unfortunately the hiking there was sub-par... so we found some other ways to entertain ourselves....

 

 

 



Other points of interest.... My sweet precious beautiful lovely Neon is no longer mine.  I signed it over to a dealership a few weeks ago, and poor thing has been replaced with a shiny red sports car :)

 I also have officially become a Nevada resident - I got my drivers license and license plates!  I'm a local, now! (PS - everything in Vegas is over the top - even the DMV).


Oh yeah, I got a data phone.  Now I can instantly have access to you facebook posts, emails, and scrabble games.... hurray?

<3 America!

She's always buzzin just like NEON

The title of this post symbolizes some significant things, and not the thing it looks like it means.  Firstly - buzzing.  Vegas is always alive.  With LOTS AND LOTS of neon signs.  Secondly, my poor Neon is also buzzing because I need work done on it.  Thirdly, I just felt like quoting John Mayer with really no reason.

So did anyone else read Stephen's blogs (that's right - TWO) the other day?  Apparently the kid stepped up his blogging game.  This time when you visit his site, you won't see any history lessons or facts on trains.  My friends, http://stephenpearsall.com is trying to compete with my blog using his witticisms and pleasant writing style.  That's right - it's a COMPETITION OF THE BLOGS.  (Hey Honey... we're competing btw).  Alright, totally kidding, but you should totally check it out.  

This past weekend, Stephen and I visited the HOOVER DAM!  Not only was the company I currently work for one of the first contracted companies on the job, but Stephen CRIED during the information video! (Probably from all the beautiful civil engineering.)  Feel free to give him a hard time about that.  But for real, the dam was really cool, and the terrain is like something I’ve never seen.  Very neat.

 (this one is for you, Dad)...

We GAMBLED!  Stephen was a gamblin’ FOOL!  Don’t worry – combined, we didn’t lose more than $100. (Haha – we only lost $6.)

And, we of course visited the strip... 

these were the TERRIBLE shoes I wore (but at least I looked hot?)

We saw a show where people were hypnotized.   It was HYSTERICAL.  This time I was the one crying, but it was from laughter, so it was legit.

And because I can read your thoughts, let's have a blog-versation (read: conversation made possible through blog).  

I am in my new apartment!

That’s great! You must be excited!

Yep! I have never been so excited to do LAUNDRY in my life.  I’m also within 5 minutes from a Target, a Panera Bread, Bank of America, Lowe’s, grocery stores, Subway, Mexican food, and a microbrewery.

Wait – you haven’t done laundry since you’ve been there??

No.  I have not.

That’s a lot of underwear… have you started wearing them inside out yet?

You, my friend, are disgusting.  I might skip a shower here and there, or re-wear a shirt a day or two, but I am honestly offended by your question.  But I have gone shopping a few times to supply more clothing.

Do you like your job?

YES. Except this week we have started at 5am, so I wake up at THREE.  That means I’m probably up earlier than many of you East Coast-erners.  But I’ve been very blessed with a really great boss and coworkers.  The atmosphere on this job site is very unlike any of my previous jobs, in a good way, but I was unprepared.

Have you found a church?

Funny story!  This past Sunday afternoon we went to a church that met in a room in a Student Union of UNLV… it reminded me of RUF in Talley.  We were 2 of the 15ish people in attendance, and I really liked it.  And this probably says something about God’s sense of humor – in what could be the smallest church in Vegas, we met not one, but TWO fellow Wolfpack!  (Well… one graduate and one former Navigators intern.)

Can I come visit you?

Absolutely! No invitation needed.  Can’t wait to see you!  

Putting the GPS away

Hello!

I suppose I haven't given you many details about life here.  I don't know if you care, but here are some det's anyway!

My daily view:

Kinda pretty, right?  And that view is all around me, when the view isn't obstructed by buildings!  This is all I see (minus the clouds) on my 40 mile ride (each way) to and from work (in the middle of NOWHERE) everyday.  I've actually started to enjoy the ride - it's so different and beautiful! (In it's own way... not like NC or anything.)

Speaking of work... it's SO cool.  I'm learning a lot and it's just incredible the amount of planning and work that goes into this thing!  I'm slowly picking up electrical engineering terms like "ductbank" and "3-phase power" and making them part of my everyday conversations.  (Still interested in my job? haha).  A daily part of my job is watching out for the desert tortoise and rattlesnakes!  Still no sightings :(

A basic intro to the project:  This is a solar thermal plant with 3 units.  Each identical unit has almost 60,000 "mirrors" that reflect light to the top of a tower, which boils water to make steam, which drives a turbine and produces power.  When all 3 units are running, we'll have ~330MW (net).  Simple enough, right?.... HA. HA.  Moving on.

The job has also completely flipped my formerly negative views on unions. I am already understanding some drawbacks, but for the most part, it's going great.

Anyways.  This (boring) blog yet again brought to you from McDonald's and their free wifi... Or perhaps I just go hang out in the parking lot to use their free internet.  I'm not above that.

First week DOWN

Me on my first day...

They don't look so new anymore, do they??

And in case you're wondering how my curls are holding up in this VERY DRY air...

Still awesome! :)

Work is going well - I work 4 10hr days/week, so I get Fridays off (hurray!). However, my daily schedule is like this:
4am - awake
5am - leave for work
6am - 4:30pm - work
5:30pm - back at hotel
8pm - in bed

My style has been royally CRAMPED.  It's making it hard to explore and meet people, but that's what this weekend is for! And by the way... I slept in til 7am today!

“HOME”… but not without a fight from NC

**(want updates on people who move to other cool places? Check out Stephen’s blog, who just moved to Salt Lake City! Stephenpearsall.com)**

According to Google Maps, to drive to Las Vegas from Greenville NC takes 38 hours.   But by flying, I made it in just 36! Booyah!

That wasn’t the original plan (which was 7 hours).  I left Greenville at 11am on Friday.  But then I said, “Hey Pilot! I’m not ready to leave.  Let’s just sit here on the runway for 40 more minutes.”  And he was like “Cool Emma” and so we took off a little late.

The flight to Charlotte is 50 minutes… usually.  But when we got there, the weather was bad, and I didn’t want any of it.  I said, “Hey Pilot! Let’s go to the beach instead!”  The pilot was happy because he wanted to get gas anyway.  So we went to Myrtle Beach and I got to see all MB has to offer from my window seat.  After 30 minutes I told the pilot I was ready to go, so we headed once again for Charlotte.

By the time we landed, I had missed my connection, and the next flight wasn’t until 6:00, 5 hours after my original connection time.  But this was perfect because my dad was connecting in Charlotte too, so I got to see him for a few minutes… he was visiting me at my gate.  But then I wasn’t done spending time with him, so I said “Hey Pilot! Let’s cancel this flight, because I want more time with my dad and spend the night with friends in Charlotte!”  Apparently lots of people wanted to spend time with their dads or friends in Charlotte too, because every single flight was delayed or cancelled out of that airport that night.

So I got to spend time with my rescue-er, Andrew Shank! I didn’t know he was even in Charlotte, but my faithful friend and Twitter follower alerted me as I was updating (follow me! emmak916).  It was so, so great to see him.  And if ya’ll want to support him as he starts seminary soon, let me know! J

The next day I got to see my dad at the airport once more, I didn’t make it on the first standby flight, but by 6pm on Saturday, I was finally on my way to Vegas.

And here I am!

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12 hours and counting

AAAAaaaahhhh... North Carolina! Remember how we hated each other at first?  You completely ruined my 11th birthday with one of your many hurricanes. Your summers were too hot, and you never got any snow! Your barbeque was gross and Bojangle's just wasn't my thing. But oh NC, we can laugh about that now. Your sweet tea, southern hospitality, and cute little accent won me over in no time.  I just love that you have the mountains and the beach!  I adore you... and the the great people (plural) and university (singular) you are home to!  I'LL MISS YOU!

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Anyway! The theme of the week is: CHAOTIC.  My car was picked up yesterday, I ran to Raleigh for Lauren's shower and to say a few more goodbyes, and today the movers came and took the last of everything I had crammed in corners, stuffed in the family room, or packed in the garage (my family has their house back!).  I'll post pictures later of the sheer chaos that was this house.

And just in case you care how I'm doing emotionally... well let's just say I'm heartbroken.  I've cried more this past week than in the past 2 years, through all the goodbyes and general stresses... and nostalgia for being a kid.  By far, the most difficult thing has been trusting the plans my Savior has, and rejoicing in my heart. So here's how I'm feeling.
Excited? YES!!!
Terrified?  DEFINITELY!!!
Sad? oooo yeah.

Thanks for your prayers, and thanks for reading!  I'm heading out in the morning.  Ah!


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